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Jessica Moes - Cyberfeminism
First Wave Feminism Notable first wave feminists include: Abigail Adams , Mary Wollstonecraft , Phillis Wheatley , Susan B. Anthony , Sjourner Truth , and Elizabeth Cady Stanton . The major movement of first wave feminism (originally written without the 's' that would be added to later movements) was the right to vote (originally for both black and white people, including women). The Seneca Falls Convention (held over two days in 1848) included speeches by keynote speakers Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass, and resulted in the signing of The Declaration of Sentiments, a document that promoted the social, economic and civil rights of women, including their right to vote. : This convention resulted in an annual National Women's Rights Convention , which met every year until the Civil War broke out in 1861. The process to full woman suffrage in the United States took a long process. : African-American and other minority males were given the right to vote in 1870 (the 15th ammendment ) : Women were given the right to vote in 1920 (the 19th ammendment ) :: This date can be compared to woman sufferage in New Zealand (1893), Finland (1906) and the USSR (1917), among others. Woman suffrage and "female empowerment" that came with first wave feminism lost some ground in the late 1940s and 1950s when the role of subserviant housewife became the social and cultural norm. Second Wave Feminisms Simone de Beauvoir writes "The Second Sex ." (1949) : Coins the ideology that "One is not born a woman" and encourages thought that "woman" is a cultural construct that immorally designates a class of people as the "servant of man." Betty Friedan writes "The Feminine Mystique ." (1963) : "The problem has no name" (referring to the wide-spread unhappiness of women in the 1950s and early 1960s). Gloria Steinem creates Ms. Magazine (a feminist magazine, founded 1971). These feminisms sparked the creation of Feminist consciousness-raising groups (CR groups) in the 1960s, that promoted discussion of issues relating to women's experiences. : In response, African-American feminists form the Combahee River Collective to give their own voice, much different from the average white American feminist, some merit in feminist discussions. The collective let to the development of the Combahee River Collective Statement, a process led by Audre Lorde , Beverly Smith , and her sister Barbara Smith . : Chicana Feminists also raised their voices, led by Gloria Anzaldúa a, who wrote "Boderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza ." Her work paid attention to both feminist and queer rights for those who experience a plurality of consciousness of identity (typically taken on by a person in a diasporic situation, such as chicano women in America). Third Wave Feminisms Third wave feminism was a response to the second wave feminisms, focusing on the equal rights of not just women but all people of different sexualities, races, genders, cultures, religions and identity. Third wave feminism saw the rise of feminist punk, such as Riot grrrl, a band with origins in Seattle, and the groups Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney . These groups promoted the ideology that women have sexual identities (not just men). Feminist Vocabulary Sex '- a biological expression related to chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features (according to Anne-Fausto Sterling of Brown University, there are at leastfive sexes , and may be as many as twelve) '''Gender '- the cultural significance a body acquires (remember de Beauvoir's "One is not born a woman"?), basically that gender is socially constructed and embodied. 'Sexuality - '''practices, beliefs and identiies associated with erotic desire. '''Patriarcy '- rule by male authority (literally "rule by the father" in Greek) 'Misogyny -' a 'hatred / dislike of females, or a large prejudice to them (again, derives from Greek) '''Feminism '- a movement to end sexist exploitism, sexism and sexist oppression Cyberfeminisms Cyberfeminism (definition ) is based off of the idea of finding social equality in cyberspace. People are becoming cyborgs (definition )(not to be confused with Fem-bots , which expands the social norms of feminity into cyberspace). Sadie Plant wrote the book "Zeros and Ones" (summary ) : "The Internet promises women a network of lines on which to chalter, nalter, work and play." : Basically, women were theorizing computation before it evolved into the technological means it has become. Jessie Daniels theorized that the cohesive thread between cyberfeminisms is the "sustained focus on gender and digital technologies." Donna Haraway, in the "Cyborg Manifesto ," argues that cyberfeminists embrace irony and blasphemy to create "oppositional, utopian and completely without innocence." Rebecca Richards defines cyberfeminism as "subversive while playful, hopeful yet hostile" Excellent examples of cyberfeminism in action: : Britney Spears airbrushing : Ralph Lauren thinning models : H&M computer generated models : Fotoshop video Cyborgs Fictional Cyborgs : Frankenstein - Cyborgs today are unlike Frankenstein. There is no reliance on one creator. : Terminator - The driving force behind technology is militarism, and technology has the power to be reprogrammed to fufill different missions. : I, Borg (Star Tek) - in class : Alien - Technology can be used against it's purpose (ie using destructive measures to actually save humanity. Are we cyborgs? : We use technologies every day that are almost vital to our survival: water purification, medical research technologies, hormone drugs, technology in cars, glasses and contacts, the Internet, weights and machinery for exercise...etc. : Real world cyborgs, that incorporate technologies into their biological means include amputees, those with pacemakers, Stephen Hawking ...etc. Do cyborgian technologies shape our politics? : One could argue that if any system is inherently relied on it must shape our politics. : However this depends on our definition of what "technology" really is.